The Next Generation 6x26 "Descent, Part 1"

rating: ****

the story: The Borg return, and Data gains emotions.

similar to: "The Search" (Deep Space Nine), "Darkling" (Voyager)

my thoughts: After the monumental "Best of Both Worlds" that served as the blockbuster introduction (for many, although they debuted in "Q Who?") to the Borg, and the much more contemplative follow-up "I, Borg," how the Collective showed up again was a crucial and probably doomed to be controversial affair, especially when later appearances (Star Trek: First Contact, Voyager) seemed to contradict the conclusions to be found in "Descent."

(For those who want explanation, it could be argued that the Borg who appear here are the remnant of the invasion force from "Best of Both Worlds," where the rest of the Collective remains as it always was in the Delta Quadrant.  Remember that the Borg were already at the fringes of Federation space as early as the end of the first season, probably a scout force that may or may not be related to the cube from "Best of Both Worlds.")

Putting aside Borg developments, the key component of this half of the story (it concludes in the seventh season premiere) is Data's struggles with emotions, how they become addictive and uncontrollable (in ways completely different, and darker, than depicted in Star Trek Generations).  Simply put, this is Data like you've never seen him before, and it makes for riveting drama.

Voyager's Doctor experiences a whole different artificial existence.  He would often manipulate his own programming, with wide-ranging results, some of them as nasty as what Data experiences here (see: "Darkling").  Data usually experienced that sort of thing due to the manipulation of his android brother, Lore, who is of course once again responsible (the plot thickens in the second part on that score).

"Descent" is foreshadowing for the kind of storytelling Deep Space Nine would tell on a regular basis, starting with the full reveal of the Dominion in the two-part "The Search," which opened its third season.  Aside from the Klingon saga (last touched on in "Rightful Heir" a few episodes ago), Next Generation was still a relatively episodic adventure, where big events were mostly self-contained.  Although the following seventh and final season continued this trend, it's easy to imagine that if the series had continued, it might have eventually embraced further serialization, and "Descent" is an example of what that might have looked like.  Lore had been around since the first season.  This is the story where his saga concludes, in impressive grandiose fashion.  But again, more on that next episode.

The first part of "Descent," meanwhile, is fascinating in its own right.  Like "Birthright" before it, the episode is an ambitious attempt to tell two separate, and yet related, stories.  This half is all about Data's initial journey, and it can't help but feel more vital than its follow-up, as we're in the familiar context of his fellow officers the whole time.

For the boldness of its vision, it's another of the unusual classics, but a classic all the same.

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential (all criteria met)

notable guest-stars:
Brent Spiner (Lore)
Stephen Hawking
John Neville
Natalia Nogulich (Nechayev)

The Next Generation 6x25 "Timescape"

rating: *

the story: The crew experiences time distortions, including a Romulan ship that seems to have been completely frozen.

similar to: "Wink of an Eye" (original series), "Condundrum," "Cause and Effect" (Next Generation), "Blink of an Eye" (Voyager)

my thoughts: I'm once again fudging my criteria acknowledgments with "Timescape," as by my standards, it could easily be given both franchise- and series-relevant labels.  In the franchise, the original series episode "Wink of an Eye" is about a species that visits the ship at a different speed (think a whole species of superheroes like the Flash or Quicksilver) while in Voyager, the similarly-named "Blink of an Eye" features a whole world whose revolutions are quicker than average, and so civilization advances rapidly while Janeway's ship is lodged in orbit (the crew experiences time normally).

At any rate, real science fiction-heavy episodes like this are somewhat a dime a dozen, and as such are kind of the bread-and-butter of the franchise.  For my tastes, "Timescape" rings most true to Next Generation's fifth season contributions to this trend, "Conundrum" and "Cause and Effect," both of which I labeled classics.  As a late entry in the follow-up season, "Timescape" betrays a creative staff that's once again dragging its feet, which was something that plagued the staff at the beginning of the season, too. 

Which is to say, "Timescape" shares none of the brilliant spark of its predecessors.  It's a by-the-numbers affair, with the crew busy experiencing odd things (this is old hat for the series: see "Where No One Has Gone Before" from the first season, for instance).  By the time we get aboard the Romulan ship, and see that crew frozen in time, and play a cat-and-mouse game with the bad guy (unlike in "Conundrum," we don't get to hang out with him the whole episode), things pick up considerably, but by then it's too late.  Come to think of it, the odd chronal mechanics from Enterprise's "Future Tense" is a better example of this sort of story, too.

You can certainly enjoy "Timescape," but it's a distinctly minor affair.

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential

A Star Trek Beyond Cheat Sheet from the TV Franchise Perspective

I'm not one of those fans who see parallels and automatically think dark, judgmental thoughts.  I see parallels as significant resonance in storytelling, affirming what has come before by addressing it and saying something new, which is the basis of all good storytelling.  That being said, Star Trek Beyond brings plots from several key episodes you might want to keep in mind:

"The Tholian Web" (original series)
As an episode straight out of the bedrock franchise material from the '60s TV show, "Tholian Web" probably needs the least amount of introduction.  Known as much for the introduction of the Tholians (not actually seen until the Enterprise two-part "In a Mirror, Darkly"), it features, like Beyond, an lost Starfleet ship, the Defiant (Deep Space Nine later featured a warship called the Defiant, too), which Kirk finds himself aboard, separated from the rest of the crew (leaving, as in Beyond, Spock and McCoy to speculate about what comes next).

"Power Play" (The Next Generation)
Another lost Starfleet ship, the Essex, comes from the same general era as Beyond's Franklin, and Enterprise's namesake predecessor to the classic franchise line of flagships.  As in Beyond, Picard is confronted with a baffling situation focused on a Starfleet captain who isn't what he appears to be.  Both "Tholian Web" and "Power Play," as well as by extension Beyond, are a nod to the classic maritime problem of the potential for ships to be lost at sea, which in the case of "Power Play" and Beyond are indicative of the early problems Starfleet encountered in that regard.

"The Swarm" (Voyager)
Aside from similarities in the name of the episode and Krall's army of killer drone ships (hey, has anyone else mentioned that parallel with our modern warfare, the drones?), the way Kirk defeats Krall's drone fleet in Beyond is similar to how Janeway overcomes her enemies in this episode, too.  (There's a nice subplot involving the holographic Doctor in desperate need of repair, and getting help from a facsimile of his creator, Lewis Zimmerman, which might be considered in metaphor as a version of Beyond's commentary on the state of Starfleet, then and now.)

Taken as a whole, these episodes don't quite add up to Star Trek Beyond, just as the movie isn't merely a conglomeration of these, or any other, episodes.  Always be wary of commentators who gloss over creative decisions like that. 

Star Trek Discovery coming January 2017

At this past weekend's San Diego Comic-Con, Series VII was given a name: Star Trek Discovery.  Bryan Fuller also made it clear that Discovery will take place in the Prime Timeline, which for all you laymen means the same timeline as each of the previous six TV shows and the first ten movies (The Motion Picture thru Star Trek Nemesis).

He also confirmed that Discovery will feature serialized storytelling, meaning each episode leads directly into the next.  Given the title, and Fuller's comments (read about them here), it seems the new series will also put a strong focus on the practical aspects of Starfleet life, by which I mean following the familiar mandate of exploration rather than (presumably) the more action-oriented nature of the film series.

The title, to me, seems like another nod to Star Trek's Western, frontier-style roots.  The Corps of Discovery, the team around the famous explorers Lewis & Clark, were among the early pioneers of westward expansion in the United States, a precursor to the settlements behind the concept of Wagon Train, a TV series that was one of Gene Roddenberry's inspirations for Star Trek.  If much of the franchise has reflected the obvious maritime traditions behind Starfleet ranks and travels across space, it seems fitting (Deep Space Nine's outpost metaphor, the space station, is Discovery's predecessor in this regard) that the frontier returns to the forefront of a franchise that has always called space the final frontier.

Star Trek Beyond review

Star Trek Beyond is a hugely successful continuation of the 2009 reboot series.  As directed by the experienced Fast & Furious franchise hand of Justin Lin, it resonates throughout franchise lore, and makes a profound statement anyone can appreciate.  On the latter score, that's a somewhat unique achievement in the film series, of which this is the thirteenth overall installment.

This is a movie that outlines everything you need to know about James T. Kirk, both personally and how he confronts his duties as a Starfleet captain.  His exploration of deep space has left him questioning why he's doing this at all, especially after unrewarding experiences like the one that starts out the movie, in which he fails spectacularly at bridging the gap between two alien worlds, despite the best of intentions.  He's ready to walk away, and then another crisis breaks out.  As he's always been, Kirk is at his best, and most effective, when dealing with crises.  The whole movie is about him finally realizing what he brings to the table.  It's no longer about justifying himself to Starfleet (as in the two previous movies), but to himself.

The big threat is Krall, who depicts the antithesis of the Federation mandate: he believes unity to be a weakness.  As the film progresses, we learn who and what Krall really is (something perhaps more elegantly handled in Beyond than its predecessor, Star Trek Into Darkness), and how he came to his conclusions.  It's a story ripped from the headlines, as with the best Star Trek plots.  Just as we're confronted with an Arab world bewildered by the advances of the West, we have members of our own society equally baffled by the demands of change, and the effects of war.

It's also a story of the frontier.  Star Trek is the last of the great Westerns, in some respects.  Originally conceived as a Western in space, seldom is that concept more relevant than in Beyond.  Krall's opposition to the Federation may also be correlated with the encroachment of white settlers in Native American territory, and how this frequently proved to be impossible to reconcile.  We've been so busy thinking of the Federation as the good guys, it's truly startling for anyone, other than implacable foes like the Klingon and Romulan races (who were represented as such in the last three movies, and others besides, not to mention many instances throughout the TV adventures), to present another view.

This is an expansive vision, with a rich depiction of Star Trek's vision of the future, the clash of cultures and what it means to be a part of it (from Kirk to Krall to resourceful refugee Jaylah, who helps Kirk defeat his enemy).

Idris Elba (Krall) and Sofia Boutella (Jaylah) are both wonderful additions to Star Trek's acting family, adding richly to its diversity in a number of ways, both in their casting (Elba is the first black actor to play a villain in a Star Trek movie) and their voices (Boutella's accent is equally unique in franchise lore).  And they're only part of the increased diversity in the film, from the aliens to the sexual orientation (Sulu is famously depicted as gay in this movie, yet another first for Star Trek).  In addition, the fears everyone had of Deep Roy's Keenser being turned into a Guardians of the Galaxy figure were lightly rebuffed (his colds, however, are not to be messed with!).  Shohreh Aghdashloo's presence lends further dramatic and cultural credibility to the proceedings.

Filled with wonderful character moments, some killer comedy beats, and a deep plot, Beyond joins the elite of Star Trek movies, not just as, arguably, the best of the reboot era, but one of the best, period.  It's a heck of a way to celebrate the franchise's fiftieth anniversary.

Your Star Trek Beyond Cheat Sheet

The 2009 reboot films have done a remarkable job synthesizing existing Star Trek mythology, and Star Trek Beyond is no different.  Put on your seatbelts, settle in, (prepare for spoilers), and enjoy this little primer on everything you need to know (plus a few cool callbacks) in order to enjoy this new movie from a franchise perspective:

• U.S.S. Franklin - This century-old starship Kirk and company bring back into working order to stop Krall's plans to destroy the starbase Yorktown (we'll get back to that) is taken from the early Starfleet era depicted in Star Trek: Enterprise, which features the first ship to be called the Enterprise, an experimental design that's the first to hit warp 5.  The Franklin is said to be the first ship to hit Warp 4.  It's reasonable to assume that it was a design Starfleet worked on in the run-up to the NX-01 (Enterprise), and was later added to the expanding fleet (as the NX-326, if I remember the placard correctly).
• M.A.C.O.s - Its captain, who is introduced as Krall but later turns out to be commanding officer of the Franklin, was previously a M.A.C.O., an army service that helped feed the ranks of the emerging Starfleet program (Enterprise's Malcolm Reed came from a similar background).  M.A.C.O.s were featured in Enterprise's third season, which featured the Xindi conflict referenced in Beyond.
• Xindi & Romulan conflicts  - Speaking of the Xindi conflict, Elba's character also talks about a Romulan conflict.  He's not talking about the events of 2009's Star Trek, which featured the rogue Romulan named Nero, but rather the Romulan War, which took place soon after the events of Enterprise and were the last time in the original canon anyone had contact with Romulans until the original series episode "Balance of Terror."
• Starbase Yorktown - The starbase Yorktown is named in honor of Gene Roddenberry's name for the startship in his first vision of Star Trek.  This draft came even before the abandoned pilot "The Cage," which was later incorporated into the two-part "The Menagerie;" the original vision, featuring the Yorktown, had as its captain Robert April, who was later featured in the Animated Series episode "The Counter-Clock Incident," the last episode of the series, in fact.
• The Yorktown is actually takes the design of the original vision for the space station featured in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
• Three years into the mission - It might be said that Beyond is a metaphor of the fate of the original TV series, with events coming to a head and seeming conclusion three years into a five-year mission, with the crew forced to justify its ideals in the face of an implacable foe (previously, merely cancellation).  Kirk references the episodic nature of his experiences, which is a nod to the series, which is often described as episodic in nature, one mission distinct from the next, which is to say unrelated.
• Cultural differences - The beginning of the movie features a humorous sequence in which Kirk attempts to make peace between two worlds, which proves difficult when a symbolic gesture from one world means something else entirely in the next.  Archer faced blunders of this kind in Enterprise ("A Night in Sickbay") during the formative years of Starfleet.
• Death of Ambassador Spock - Those seeing their first Star Trek movie with Beyond may not be aware of the significance of the birth and death years depicted in the movie, assuming he had a fairly short life.  On the contrary, Spock is observing the death of his counterpart from the original timeline, where they share a birth year, but Ambassador Spock lived on to the time of Picard (his journey in pursuit of Nero as depicted in Star Trek takes place after Nemesis), and his death picks up where he emerged in his own past.  His death is a nod to actor Leonard Nimoy's death in the real world.
• Absent friends - At the end of the movie, Kirk proposes a toast to his crew.  As he references absent friends, the camera focuses on Chekov.  This is a nod to the recent death of the actor who portrayed in these films, Anton Yelchin, which is referenced in the credits with the "For Anton" card.

Now, some throwbacks to prior movies:

• The destruction of the Enterprise - This is something that happened twice previously, in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek Generations.  The saucer separation happens in both Generations and Beyond.
• Abandoning ship - The ship is abandoned in Search for Spock, although it's a limited crew complement (just the main characters, due to unique circumstances), and everyone beams safely away.  The crew also abandons ship in Star Trek: First Contact, in a similar fashion to how it's depicted in Beyond.
• Getting an unlocking sequence accomplished - Speaking of First Contact, the way Kirk desperately must unlock a series of panels as he struggles against Krall in Beyond is similar to a sequence in which Picard and Worf desperately work to detach the deflector beacon and thus deprive the Borg of their main weapon in First Contact.
• Rogue villain taking on the whole Federation - This may seem somewhat unique to the terrorism era we're living in, but it's something Star Trek has been doing since at least Search for Spock, in which a rogue Klingon warrior attempts to lay claim to the Genesis Device (it might be argued that Khan is similarly engaged in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but he's pretty singularly focused on Kirk as a target).  Anyway, all four of the Picard movies (Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis) feature what at the time looked almost like Bond villains (Tom Hardy's Shinzon in Nemesis even unmistakably evokes recurring Bond foe Blofeld, last appearing in 2015's Spectre and portrayed by Christoph Waltz), feature this type of villain.  Nero fits this model perfectly, and might be the easiest example to spot, and he's probably best understood in that light, the one we're unfortunately experiencing with alarming frequency these days.  I'm told anarchists, a century ago, used to use dynamite like this, for what it's worth.
• The passage of time - Kirk deals with this in Wrath of Khan and its predecessor, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, although circumstances have changed considerably.  In the original universe, it's because Kirk is literally aging.  In this one, it's because he's now older than his father (George Kirk, depicted in Star Trek) was at the time of his heroic death.
• Spock considers leaving Starfleet - Not only is this a nod to the events of Star Trek and their lingering effects, but it evokes Leonard Nimoy's repeated intentions to distance himself from the franchise, both in the aborted second live-action TV series (which later gave way to The Motion Picture, where Spock does appear) but Wrath of Khan as well (Spock's death originally conceived as a way for Nimoy to gracefully exit; he returns promptly in Search for Spock).

This one's for the Star Trek vs. Star Wars fans:

• For as long as these franchises have existed alongside each other, the debate has been constant.  And while the Star Trek movies have often tried to ramp up the action Star Wars helped bring to sci-fi movies, the 2009 reboot and its increased budget made the distinction harder than ever to distinguish.  I think Beyond makes a pretty clear statement, in contrast to the recent Star Wars - Episode VII: The Force Awakens, in the similar characters of Jaylah (Beyond) and Rey (Force Awakens).  Both are living in the ruins of an old ship.  One of those ships becomes crucial to the rest of the movie (Jaylah's, which is the Franklin), whereas the other is quickly replaced by a more familiar, albeit well-loved, relic (the Millennium Falcon).  Who Jaylah is and how she helps resolve matters is accomplished in one film, while Rey's journey will likely continue for another two films (a Star Wars custom).  Where Star Wars handles the fate of empires, Star Trek is keenly concerned with the fate of ideals.  (Clearly, they both value the merits of friendship and heroic commitment.)

The Next Generation 6x24 "Second Chances"

rating: ***

the story: Riker discovers his transporter duplicate.

similar to: "Defiant" (Deep Space Nine)

my thoughts: As opposed to episodes where a character is split apart (the original series' "The Enemy Within" or Voyager's "Faces") or simply melded together (Voyager's "Tuvix"), "Second Chances" has the distinction of introducing a permanent alternate version (not counting the Mirror Universe, naturally) of a main character.

Transporters accidents are a classic franchise trope, and on that score "Chances" may be the prototypical example, in some ways the nightmare scenario even worse than somehow dying from one (although that happened in The Motion Picture, too).  But most significantly, not only does Thomas Riker come into existence, he actually returns later, too (Deep Space Nine's "Defiant").  That means everything this episode concludes had an additional layer of resonance.

"Chances" might be considered a what-may-have-been story (Voyager is chalk-full of those!), from the unique perspective of it actually playing out.  Thomas Riker (the transporter duplicate) was created before Will Riker became the man we're familiar with (in some ways, "Tapestry" without the reset), which means, among other things, the famous Riker/Troi romance that was one of the worst teases of the series gets to be revisited, and in some ways addressed directly for the first time.

Although the episode somewhat glosses over how Thomas was able to survive on his own for as long as he did (unlike those pesky Soong androids, no reassembly required!), it's a nifty reminder that nearly everyone in this series has a similar origin story, where they were literally scooped up from the ruins of a shattered life, and had to somehow make good and start anew.  You can actually enjoy "Chances" for that peek into all the stories we mostly only really heard about over the years.

Because I don't think "Second Chances" is a classic, I'm going to classify, besides its distinction as an essential character piece for Riker, as a series recommendation over a franchise one, although this is kind of splitting hairs.  Bottom line, it's a 3-star affair.

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential

notable guest-stars:
Jonathan Frakes (Thomas Riker)
Mae Jemison